‘The Body Project’ is being delivered by the University of Gloucestershire with funding from Gloucestershire NHS Integrated Care Board. On this page we will introduce a few of our core team members.
Hannah Kate Lewis
Hannah is one of the Research Associates working on ‘The Body Project’ at the University of Gloucestershire. She came to the University of Gloucestershire following her PhD in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London where she studied the implementation of ‘The Body Project’ in the UK, specifically looking at how to culturally adapt the intervention to be inclusive of ethnic minority groups such as South Asian women and girls. Her other research interests and publications include, but are not limited to: the conceptualisation, risk factors, and prevention targets of ‘body image disorders’ such as eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder, the involvement of people with lived-experience in and the co-production of body image interventions, the experiences of body image disorders across LGBTQIA+ groups, and barriers and facilitators in accessing eating disorder services for South Asian groups.
Michelle Barden
Michelle studied for her Psychology BSc and Health Psychology MSc as a mature student at the University of Gloucestershire. Michelle took part in The Body Project as a participant during her studies and went on to train as a facilitator, as well as working as a volunteer research assistant on the pilot study until she graduated. Michelle now works at the Gloucestershire all-age Eating Disorders Service as an Assistant Clinician and is also the Research Co-ordinator and a Research Assistant for The Body Project. Michelle is a keen advocate for outreach and is interested to explore possibilities for extending The Body Project to males and LGBTQAI+ populations.
Dr Kerry Rees
Kerry is a Senior Lecturer within the school of Education and Science at the University of Gloucestershire. He lectures in Psychology, Psychology & Sociology and Criminology & Psychology. Kerry’s research interests are focused on non-conscious influences on decision making, social values, identity, and well-being. Kerry has been part of the University’s Body Project team since 2018. He is also currently working on projects with the Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust investigating the role of compartmentalisation and disassociation in people recovering from psychosis and the experience of pain in chronic sufferers. Other projects include investigation of recovery in anorexia, individual differences in decision making, neurodiversity in the workplace and virtuous and toxic leadership. He is regularly interviewed by media outlets such as the BBC where he shares his insights into the social psychology and impacts of social media.
Katerina Kantartzis
Katerina is the Deputy Head of the School of Education and Science at the University of Gloucestershire. She completed her undergraduate and PhD at the University of Birmingham, investigating Sound Symbolism and word learning. Katerina was a founder member of The Body Project research team when the original pilot study was conducted in 2018 and was pivotal in developing the first team of project facilitators. Katerina is a Master Trainer for The Body Project. She liaises directly with One Gloucestershire NHS ensuring funding for the future of the project. Katerina is also a member of the board of ConnectED Gloucestershire Eating Disorders Charity.